Installing Fenders, Doors And Remaining Body Parts

PAGE 9

After all the doors, hood,trunk lid and other small body parts ars sand blasted and primered and all door jams and the hood and trunk lid are painted on the under sides its time to install them. I spent at least 5 or 6 hours Installing the above parts and trying to line them up so they would open and shut right and still have good lines. I did not have to buy any door hinges but I had to rebuild three of them. This all sounds real easy except for one thing. When you install a differant sub frame you have no place to bolt the fenders and core support to. What I did is jack the car up and put jack stands under it so the car was sitting like it was on the tires. Then I lined up the fenders, hood and grill so they fit like I wanted them and used jack stands, wooden blocks and what ever else I could find to hold them in place. Then I built brackets that would fit the core support to bolt the fenders to and would also bolt to the Firebird sub frame. I used GM core support rubber donuts between the brackets and the frame. There were also two more fender brackets that I made in the same manor and also used rubber donuts between the brackets and the frame. When bolting the fenders and grill together they make a rubberized felt to put between the metal parts if you don't use it you will have lots of squeeks. You must also use rubber pads between the fender and core support brackets and the frame.

Now I'am Getting Somewhere

I drove the car to work for three years and all the time I was working on it.

Welding day at the old garage. It took all day to weld all the holes up.

Remember when building a hot rod it is very important to rebuild or obtain new parts for things that make the car safe and for longevity.  Do not scrap on safety or durability it will pay off in long run.